Five fighters from Hezbollah and the Amal movement, its ally, were killed during Israeli raids in southern Lebanon on the night of Thursday February 15 to Friday February 16, the two groups announced. These strikes come after deadly violence in the border region, where exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah have intensified and raised fears of an escalation. On Thursday, Hezbollah claimed to have fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel in response to an Israeli raid that left 15 dead. Follow our live stream.
The international community is trying to dissuade the Jewish state from an attack on Rafah. While Benjamin Netanyahu announced a “powerful action” against this city located on the border with Egypt, Joe Biden told the Israeli Prime Minister his opposition to a military operation in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip, “without a credible and feasible plan ensuring the safety of civilians in Rafah”according to the White House.
The Israeli offensive continues. The Hamas government’s Ministry of Health reported an assessment of “112 dead” on the night of Thursday to Friday across the Gaza Strip, while Israel’s offensive left nearly 29,000 dead according to the Palestinian Islamist movement. No other independent source allows us to verify this assessment.
A new truce still under discussion. Negotiations for a truce including new releases of Hamas hostages and Palestinians held by Israel continue in Cairo until Friday, under the mediation of Qatar, Egypt and the United States.